Totally Transparent
by Felix02
Summary: Sakura never thought the afterlife would include waking up in her ex-sensei's apartment. As a ghost. Or something.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** Hello, hello! It's been a long time since I've last written and posted, but this idea has been in my mind for years and years. It also has been sitting in my computer for about that long as well so I have finally decided to post it.

I've also decided to post the first two chapters at once because in the beginning they started as one chapter, but after many sleepless nights I realized having a prologue and a first chapter would work out better.

As for the format of the chapters I am probably going to do short posts, for the most part, so I don't get too overwhelmed. I want this story to be fun and hopefully funny. My humor tends to be a bit warped and unique so most people will probably not be amused. You've been duly warned! Haha.

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story. (Oh, and sorry about my grammar. It has been a long time after all.)

**Totally Transparent  
**_Prologue_

When Sakura opened her eyes it was to see Ukki-san, the long cherished plant of her ex-sensei. Strange that. This is not what she thought death would be like. Wasn't everything supposed to be, you know, white?

Turning around she found herself in a small, austere room. To one wall there was a bed, to the other a small messy desk, and beyond that a kitchenette. An open beer bottle stood on the empty countertop, the faucet dripped a little, but other than the beer the room was clean. Spotless almost. There was hardly any decoration, not even a cheap rug. What decor there was came in the form of two small picture frames. One she recognized with dread. The other was only vaguely familiar.

If the dead could breathe Sakura would have suffocated.

Was this a joke? This could not be heaven, she absolutely refused to believe such a stupid thing. At least Sakura hoped this was not heaven, because if it was heaven sucked. On the other hand it could be hell. In that case, hell maybe wasn't _so_ bad, and she should have raided her mother's purse more.

Stepping away from the window, away from a plant she knew too well for her liking or comfort, Sakura studied her ex-sensei's apartment. Maybe this was only a stepping stone to something bigger, better, because this couldn't be what death gave her. This couldn't be real. Her afterlife could not be this apartment, in this village, for the rest of all eternity, and if this all ended up to be true she had some serious thinking to do. Namely, why her afterlife consisted of her sensei's apartment and dear old plant.

Shit. She had to get out.

Sakura crossed the room before before she finished the thought, opened the door, and promptly screamed.

There was nothing outside. No hallway, no wall, no light at the end of the tunnel, and, for better or worst, no brimstone and fire. There was just a void, a colorless, empty hole.

Her heart raced up her throat and something deep and cutting opened up inside her. Sakura slammed the door and moved back to the window, pressing her face against the glass. The view was what she expected. There were shops, restaurants, the Hokage Mountain, and a few elderly people. Sakura gave a try at the window. It didn't budge.

Fear prickled her stomach, and she swallowed whatever fear that crept up down.

She was stuck. Here. This tiny, sparse room was to be her eternity.

Okay, so maybe she should have never stolen any money from her mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Standard disclaimer applies. **I hope y'all enjoyed the prologue. Now for round two!

**Totally Transparent  
**_Chapter One_**  
**

In all her years she never expected this.

That is to say being dead in her sensei's apartment, on her knees, looking for his raunchy books for company. (Of course, she never expected to die at such a young age either, but that was _besides_ the point.) Back on topic. If this was really his room, even a replica, those books had to be somewhere. Raunchy books were better than no books. To be honest, and she was when the mood suited, raunchy books were better than most books. Hey, who didn't like a little escapism now and then? She was dead and suck, and for those reasons alone Sakura thought she was entitled to an epic diversion right now.

Hell, she deserved it!

It was getting on in the day when Sakura roused herself from her stupor of self-pity. The sun turned orange and the clouds purple when she had decided to stop thinking about the before and after _her entrapment_, as she now called her situation. Instead, she should try to take her mind off her circumstances, and what better method to do so than reading. It was a brilliant idea. She was stuck and there was nothing she could do about it. Might as well make the best of it, and raiding her ex-sensei's erotica collection was the best idea she could think of.

So here she was on her knees peering under Kakashi's bed.

It was getting harder to see by the minute. Twilight made the room dark, casting long shadows across the floorboards, but there was still enough light to see that there was nothing under Kakashi's bed but a seal to keep away vermin. No boxes, no dirty stashes of old hentai magazines from twenty years ago like she found in Naruto's place. (He swore that he got them at a discount price from some old man he met. She had sworn she stumbled upon them by accident.) There was nothing. Not even his closet, the small thing that it was, held a simple book collection - no classics, no shinobi training manuels, no Bingo book, and sadly no smutty books.

Maybe this wasn't his bedroom. This could have just been a room she was placed in by some cruel gods. Sitting back against the bed Sakura closed her eyes. The room was darker now. Well, if this really wasn't his room in the living world then hopefully she would be able to turn on a light. She had been able to open that door to nowhere and search through his things. Pause. Were ghosts supposed to move things? Ugh. She just creped herself out.

Rolling her head to the side she was able to clearly see the door. The light switch was next to it, but Sakura didn't want to go near it. Her choice was clear: either don't turn on the light and remain totally in the dark with the creepy door to void-y-ness, or turn on the light, high-tail it back to the window, and at least keep an eye on the other side of the room for any door opening signs. She sighed, the choice clear.

The whole business took less than five seconds, but Sakura was out of breath by the time she made it back to the bed. A cold sweat dotted her brow, but when she tried to wipe it away she felt nothing. The feeling remained growing down her body till it reached her toes. The urge to retch overwhelmed her but ability to so was lost. She was not a physical entity anymore. Sakura knew that much, but she could almost still feel physical sensations.

Leaning against the bed she breathed in deeply. A deep calmness fell over her and slowly, like a sluggish tide, she felt herself numb and wash away.

When Sakura felt herself become conciseness once more it was because of the weirdest sensation. Something was in her. Sakura remained motionless on the floor unable to scream or move as a sensation akin to pain whistled through her spirit. The feeling of something going through her was akin to being violated. It was not physical but emotional. She tried to scream but nothing would come out. She gaped like a fish, her mouth opening and closing, tears forming underneath her lashes before her strengthed returned.

Flinging herself off the floor, Sakura tumbled to the other side of the room and looked up to see that a very familiar face was staring back at her.

Hatake Kakashi. Unmasked.

Sakura wished that she had something witty and insightful to say, but her mind was blank. This was not how she expected to see Kakashi unmasked ever. She was slowly finding that all her expectations were being ruined one by one that day.

"Sakura?" Kakashi croaked his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes, one red and the other brown, were wide and glowed in the faint moonlight. His body was tense as if he was about to fight her, which was impossible even for Kakashi. She was dead after all. Suddenly it kind of made sense.

She was a ghost. The knowledge came from some identifiable source, but it rang true. She was a ghost. Maybe this was her haunting victim? Damn, this was getting better and better by the second.

"Kakashi." Her voice sounded strange and that same emotional sensation of pain followed, but it was lighter, softer this time. She felt as if her spirit was on fire, her energy drained with that one word. This dead thing was not working out Sakura thought vaguely trying to regain her balance.

Kakashi's face was unreadable, more of a mask than the one he wore. Shaking his head he stood up and walked quickly to the sink. Coupled with the beer, there was now an opened bottle of vodka and a half full glass of rum. The pain ebbed away as quickly as it had come. When did he get back? How long was she gone? Where the hell did she go? She didn't recall falling asleep.

The sound of the faucet running brought her attention back to the present and to the man now huddled over the sink washing his face. Sakura watched with abstract amazement as his muscles contracted underneath a standard Anbu black undershirt. If she had been a physical woman she would have felt sexual desire, but now there was nothing and for some reason that loss grated on her nerves more so than being dead.

It was strange thing to know how one would have, should have felt but not be able to do so. A desire to be alive crept around her, but Sakura pushed the feeling away. What was gone, what she wished to be, was impossible. She could never live again as she once had. Turning her face away from Kakashi, Sakura sat on his bed and wished herself to be invisible.

Kakashi probably thought he was dreaming. How many days had it been since she died? She had no idea. It could have been a week or a year and that unknown information terrified her. To know that she could just disappear from consciousness and lose herself completely, to not know where she went to, scared the shit out of her. Where had she gone? Was it like only a few minutes before when she woke up to Kakashi's body in her own, when she had lost herself at twilight in that slowly, pulling motion?

As a child Sakura thought death would bring all the answers, but it only brought more and unlike when she was a child there was no one to talk to, to confide in. Kakashi probably thought he was crazy.

"Sakura." She barely heard Kakashi's voice it was so low. For a crazy, heart stopping moment she thought he was talking to her, but when she looked up she found that she was wrong.

Kakashi stood next to her looking out the window, but he was not talking to her. His hand reached out and touched the pane glass window. Sakura gulped and stared at his naked face. The mask was gone and in the moonlight he looked...There wasn't a word to describe how he looked at that moment. His features were undeniably sad and distant, more untouchable than a ghost.

Sakura had expected him to be extremely handsome, but his looks were not so above par. He was a very attractive man yet not an extremely handsome one. He had a strong nose and chin, but his lips were a little too thin. His nose was a bit crooked and there was a scar along his chin bone. Some of his features overwhelmed others, but there was something about him that oozed sexual virility.

Kakashi looked made for sex.

His hips were narrow but thick enough so he could pound into a woman instead of sliding between her legs. His chest was finely cut and lean but heavy with dense muscle. On any other man his muscles may have bulged, but not with Kakashi. The fingers that touched the glass were long and well shaped like a musicians. How many women had he touched with those fingers Sakura wondered before catching herself. She would have flushed if she still could. Instead she turned away. She felt like she was intruding on some private moment, one that no one had a right to witness. It made her uncomfortable. She clasped her hands together and regarded the floor.

Try as she might she could not think of anything else but Kakashi. It was an odd thing really that she couldn't feel any sexual desire for him. She almost wished she could. He was a fine specimen of man and surprisingly she only felt the tiniest bit ecchi for thinking about her ex-sensei in sexual terms.

She was brought to the present when his fingers curled into themselves and his knuckles whitened. He turned towards her, looked right through her, and moved to the bed again. Not wanting him to go through her, Sakura jumped off the bed and ran towards the other side of the room. She pulled out and chair and sat down and it wasn't until he gasped that Sakura realized what had occurred.

He was staring at the area she was in, regarding chair she just pulled out. She let go of it as if it were on fire. Which in reality shouldn't have bothered her. Pro number one Sakura thought glumly.

"What the hell?" His eyes flickered for a moment before he murmured to himself, placing a hand on his head. He shook his head in self deprecatingly way and pushed the chair back in its proper place. He was murmured something but it was so quiet Sakura didn't catch what he said.

So he couldn't see her anymore. Sakura look down at herself. She looked as solid as ever, what changed?

"Kakashi." Sakura called out. No response.

She touched her throat. Her voice sounded normal and there was no pain. What was going on? The analytical side of her mind rushed forward. A little experiment was in the order. A smile tickled the corner of her lips. This would scare or at least freak him out if it worked, but this was Kakashi. She had no problem giving him a little fright. Besides, she was the one stuck and his serious emotions were getting a bit too...personal for her liking.

Concentrating on steadying her voice, willing him to hear it, she took a big metaphorical breath. "I was going to use that chair, sensei. I might be dead, but I still need to sit."

He was just laying down to bed when he froze. Slowly he stood up and looked straight at her. Through her. "Who's there?"

His voice was rough and unwelcoming, his body taunt, and his dark eyes wary. He held a kunai in his hands and his sharingan swirled around and around. Sakura walked right up to him and stared him down. She couldn't stop the smile that erupted on her face.

The sharingan was beautiful and useless. Boon two. Looking at his body Sakura knew that he aware of another presence. He relaxed and his body turned fluid. This was a dangerous Kakashi. He was completely relaxed and ready, aware everything around him.

"Come out." Kakashi's voice boomed in her ears, his eyes turning sharp and deadly. Shit. _She_ was scared. This haunting thing was not going as planned, but she would be damned if she let him know it. Besides, she was the ghost! He should be the scaree.

"I'm right here, sensei." Sakura let the smile echo in her voice and wished herself to become visible to him. She focused her spirit and energy in becoming visible and was rewarded, because he was not longer looking through her but at her. It seemed like she was getting the hang of this business. She wasn't a fast learner for nothing. She was proud of herself for a couple of seconds before the unexpected happened.

He turned and left the apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Standard disclaimer applies.** Thank you to all who read. _F.Y.I_: I changed a few things in the previous chapters so if you want to go back and reread them your welcome to. If not I don't think you'll miss anything big. Now onwards to chapter two!

**Totally Transparent**  
_Chapter Two_

Kakashi could have least told her hi was the first thought that crossed Sakura's mind after he left. She didn't expect him to roll out the fine china for her, but a simple 'hello, my dead ex-student, how is the afterlife going' would have been nice. It was the polite thing to do, but she shouldn't have placed such high hopes in a man who read licentious books in public.

She was back to square one, and there were no books to comfort her.

It would have been easy to be angry. Kakashi ignored her, but over the years she learned to control her baser emotions and so she took pity on the man. That didn't mean she wasn't sore about the whole event. So sore in fact that her fingers itched to destroy his apartment and everything in it. Poltergeist, eat your heart out!

Sakura closed her eyes and counted to ten. Did she feel better? Hell no. Why did she even think counting would help? It just made her fingers itch more, and the itch slowly made its way up to her eyeball. Pressing down on the muscle the spasms slowly faded and Sakura sighed. Anger would get her nowhere fast. Destroying his apartment, though gratifying, would only lead to guilt and a not so pleased Kakashi later. And being that she was his new roommate, Sakura wanted to start off on the right foot.

She snorted. Roommates with Kakashi. That settled it. She had to figure out how to move on to the great beyond, because, kami knows, she didn't do the whole roommate thing.

It had taken a three month thing with Ino and after that four months with Tenten before Sakura realized that she just didn't mesh well living with other people. The first brought over too many men and was too loud during certain vigorous exercises, and the latter was too goody-two-shoes and perfect. So what if she might have been jealous of the first's ability to draw men to her like flies and the second's amazing feats of perfection, the point was she liked being alone.

Except on those days when her apartment was invaded by house centipedes. Correction. Had been invaded. She no longer lived there. Well, at least she never had to worry about those damn, pesky creatures that made their home in her apartment. The place and the centipedes were other people's problems now. Sakura only hoped her old apartment complex would be torn down and burned. It was worst than Kakashi's place and a safety hazard.

She had stopped taking high-ranking missions a year back to focus more on research and the pay sucked, and when she finally gotten sick of the below average pay there had been no high ranking missions to take. Then the heavens had blessed her with one but that blessing had been a curse in disguise, because she had died on that mission. She had died in Kakashi's hands, his eyes wild and bright, his sharingan swirling and swirling.

Sakura's head snapped up. Yes, she had died in his arms. How had she forgotten that fact? The memory of her last seconds was hazy but potent, but the mission was forgotten. She didn't remember what happened. Terror. She remembered the feeling of cold terror, but that only.

Pulling herself from her memories Sakura gasped as if she'd been drowning. Her spirit felt numb and hollow. She shook her head and hugged herself.

She would have to ask Kakashi what happened. She remembered the terror again. Then again maybe she wouldn't just yet.

It didn't matter Sakura assured herself because she first had to make Kakashi believe in her existence, and for a man practical as her ex-sensei was, despite some of his rather odd ways, it would be no easy task.

**A/N:** This is actually not what I planned for this chapter. My first draft was a lengthy eight page chapter, but after I wrote it I decided it was too detailed and a bit too angsty. Therefore, I wrote this two pager. I want this story to stay light and humorous, but I have to be honest and point out that I cannot avoid all angst. Still, I would like to keep it as light as possible. Also, I want the chapters to be a bit shorter (though I am not opposed to having longer ones).

I am also having trouble with Kakashi's personality. In the first draft of this chapter there was a lot of communication between him and Sakura, but I decided didn't like how that conversation worked out. Anyway, don't be surprised if Kakashi seems a bit OOC in the next chapter though I will try to keep him in character, hard as that may be.

Until the next time,

Felix02


	4. Chapter 4

**Standard disclaimer applies**. Thank you again to all those who read! I hope you enjoy chapter four. I must admit I am a bit nervous how this chapter turned out, and that nervousness is mainly because of Kakashi. If y'all would tell me what you think it would be great so I can get a steady hand on his character for the next chapters. Placing Kakashi in this situation makes him rather hard to write and your opinions would give me some insight. Thanks.

**Totally Transparent **  
_Chapter Three_

In the small bathroom Sakura found something very interesting, or sickening if one perceived it from a different angle. It was small item and accordingly should have never been so…inconspicuous. But who could really overlook a tube of bright red lipstick in one Hatake Kakashi's bathroom? If there were such people she was not one of them, especially since it _wasn't_ well hidden in the mirror medicine cabinet.

Finding out about this little tidbit was almost worth being dead!

Almost.

There was that pesky problem of not being to tell anyone since she was in fact dead, and because she couldn't spread this tasty morsel of gossip and laugh about it with friends, Sakura was thoroughly freaked out about finding the tube. Not that she had a problem with men who dressed as women or who liked wearing make-up, but imagining Kakashi partake in the pastime of S-class missing-nin and transvestites though was just wrong.

Immoral.

Gross.

Sexy.

Sakura gagged. She did not just think that. Directing her thoughts back to her original purpose Sakura closed the medicine cabinet, lipstick in hand. Her idea was a little dramatic, but dramatic she needed. Drama was good. It captured the attention with an artistic flare.

Twisting the tube open, Sakura put the red tip against the mirror and wrote as follows:

**Yo, you bastard ex-sensei, why the hell did you leave me alone?**

Stepping back to admire her work, Sakura crossed her arms. The red contrasted nastily against the reflective silver surface. Dramatic, indeed. Probably calling him a bastard was a bit too much, especially since she had never called him that before, well to his face, but Sakura thought the situation called for it.

She walked to the kitchenette and then walked back in the bathroom.

She was met with her frowning face. If her memory served her right and Kakashi was the last person she'd seen before she died could he take her message the wrong way? She didn't know what transpired before or after the great event of her death. Was she alone when she was attacked? Did he leave her body? Not that Kakashi would do that, but what if something happened and in a series of horrible events her body was lost and Kakashi had to escape for his life?

Sakura was positive that he would never leave her body on purpose because one) she was a beloved student (or she had better been) and two) to prevent Konoha's secrets being revealed in her body's chakra patterns. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Smearing the lipstick message with her hand would make the next message rather less than impressive so she opted for a postscript.

**P.S. The message above refers to earlier this afternoon.**

And just for kicks:

**P.S.S. Why the hell do you have lipstick in your medicine cabinet?**

Sure she could have dug out a piece of paper and a pen, and she usually was much more academically minded when writing messages, but she'd had a hard day. Could anyone blame her for going a little bit off the deep end?

Sakura was busy contemplating these things when she heard the apartment door open. Dropping the lipstick Sakura jumped from the bathroom into the rest of the apartment.

Yep, it was Kakashi. Not that she had expected anyone else. Though she wouldn't have been too surprised to see the owner of the lipstick, but here Sakura counted her blessings. The owner of the lipstick and Kakashi could have come in together. Sakura shuddered in revulsion. Kakashi may have been made for sex, but she didn't want to see that body in action unless she was the one under him.

_WHAT?_

Sakura slapped herself, but there was no denying she just thought of having sex with Kakashi. This is what dying a virgin gets you she supposed.

She was dragged from her thoughts when Kakashi opened his refrigerator and scrounged around. Obviously not finding what he wanted the man looked around as if he were lost before heading, slightly swaying, to the bathroom. Sakura waited with bated breath as the lights turned on.

For a moment Sakura didn't think he saw her message. Curious she walked up to him till she was close enough to feel him breathing. What's more, he was trembling. His hand rose to grip the doorframe and it cracked beneath those musical fingers of his.

"I'm glad I'm not that door frame."

She spoke without thinking, with a hint of awe in her voice, and she must have wanted him to hear it because he suddenly wiped around. She stood just under his chin so she had to look up, and when she did she was met with one stunned Kakashi.

She also must have wanted him to see her because without a word or warning he reached out one hand to her. He was not trembling, but his movements were tentative, almost as if he was unconvinced that she stood before him. Sakura didn't think Kakashi was a man to ever be labeled tentative, but heck! she couldn't blame him. If their roles were reversed she would've been out of the apartment by now. That or punched a wall and/or the ghost.

He did not extend out his arm to touch her, but stopped right before he did so. For that Sakura was glad, the earlier experience lingering in the back of her mind.

"Sakura." If his movements were hesitant his voice certainly was not, she was taken aback by the stark contrast.

She smiled. "You're not going crazy," she said quickly and then added after a moment, holding out her hand. "So you better not leave me again. I'm the one going crazy. You know how boring it is to be stuck here?" His face gave away nothing. The black-blue mask was in place again and his sole eye was dead steady. Sakura rambled on.

"Where are all those Icha-Icha books you have, by the way? _Any books for that matter_. You know I almost destroyed your apartment when you left, I can't believe you'd do that to me. Yeah, sure you might have thought you were hallucinating but you could have at least humored yourself. Not to mention that - "

"Sakura." His deep baritone voice made her look up at him. He was shaking his head, his silvery locks brushing his face. "Was the mirror necessary?"

She'd forgotten about the mirror. "Does this mean you believe me?"

He shrugged moving towards the bed. "I'll decide in the morning." He murmured something else, and it was then Sakura noticed that the smell of alcohol was rather potent.

"You could at least take a shower before you pass out."

Kakashi lay on his back, his knee propped up with an arm covering his face. "Sakura is telling me to take a shower." He whispered incredulously to himself, as if he really thought he was going crazy. He was talking to himself. Drunk. That explained a couple of things. Namely, why he didn't pull a kunai on her.

"Hey," Sakura yelled. He did not move. "Pay attention to me!"

Things were not going to plan. If she couldn't drink, he couldn't drink. It was only fair. That was the new rule. He turned over so that he faced the wall. Sakura fumed but it was useless. He was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Standard disclaimer applies.** The past chapters have been lacking in Sakura/Kakashi interaction so I hope this post somewhat makes up for it. I apologize if this chapter is a bit choppy. Anyway, enjoy!

**Totally Transparent **  
_Chapter Four_

"You know you're not hallucinating, right?"

Kakashi leaned back against his chair, one arm tucked behind him while the other rested on an out stretched leg. They were playing cards, and the hand that held his cards tapped restlessly against his pants. He smiled quite suddenly.

"I'm not sure what think to think, Sakura-chan, but we _are_ playing cards together. That's something, don't you think?" Sakura shifted in her folding chair, the one Kakashi kindly brought out from his closet so she could sit with him as they played.

It was a strange way to start the day, but the circumstance was not what one called normal.

"Hmm." Kakashi made a low sound in his throat looking over his cards. Decision made he placed a card down on the pile between them and glanced up to her. "Your move."

Sakura felt her ire rising, but if this was what she had to do to gain his trust so be it. Right now she was sure Kakashi believed himself to be a danger to himself and others. She was sure because he told her as much after she greeted him that morning, and he followed that statement by informing her that he was staying at home today, with her, to work the whole thing over. And afterwards, before Sakura could give her own excellent opinion, suggested they play cards. He smiled and said, as if in afterthought, that she had mentioned being bored.

Sakura had wanted to scream and the feeling had not subsided these past thirty minutes, but taking one more deep breath Sakura concentrated on her own hand of cards not surprised to see that they were not in her favor. So Sakura did the only thing she could think of – she made a strategically bad move.

Kakashi's eyebrow rose. "No good cards?" he sympathized pitifully. "Trying to out wit me, _Sakura_?"

Sakura snorted, keeping a nasty comment that bubbled to her lips in check. He was testing her that much was sure, waiting for her to lose her temper. The thing was Sakura couldn't decide if losing her temper would be in her favor or not. She huddled down for the long haul, because it was clear that he did not trust her and unlike cards she couldn't come up with a strategy, good or bad.

"Suck it, Kakashi." Sakura shot him a glare that he returned with an innocent eye crinkle. "You know you're taking this pretty well." She grumbled after a moment.

"You claim to be a ghost. Why would I assume anything else?" he said somewhat non-cryptically. The man was playing with her! Her fist clutched her cards in favor of hitting him.

"I am a ghost!"

He grunted softly. Sakura didn't know what he meant by that because she assumed grunts were men-speak. Sasuke had grunted a lot when he was younger and still on Team Seven, he would have known what that grunt meant.

Kakashi surprised her a moment later when he leaned forward. "If you're a ghost as you claim to be, _Sakura_, you must know how you died."

Well, no point in dragging this out Sakura sighed, especially since he finally wanted to talk about it. This time she leaned back and took up his former pose, shrugging. "Why are you asking me, you were there weren't you?"

Something dark flashed in his eyes. "Yes, but I asked you."

His tone broke for no argument. She swore she tried not to be intimidated, but with Kakashi staring at her with that scary, no-nonsense expression, just waiting for her to trip up – either to prove his own insanity or her deception – it was nearly impossible, but Sakura was sure she did an admirable job of remaining neutral. And to prove that she wasn't uncomfortable, she leaned forward till she was almost nose-to-nose with him. They blinked at each other for a moment before Sakura broke the heavy tension.

"If you mean to scare me, _sensei_, I am not so easily intimidated and I would appreciated it if you just stop." He hadn't been surprised when she leaned towards him, but he was clearly taken aback at her words. There was a flicker of brightness before his eye returned to normal placidity.

"I remember nothing," Sakura continued as if nothing happened. "I do not even remember the mission, what it was about, what happened, where it was, and what happened. I do recall the day before I left and then I remember you and a feeling of terror, of some unstoppable impending doom."

She sat back watching him. "I remember dying in your arms." She finished with a shrugged. "You might have looked sad, but I was too busy concentrating on myself."

The truth was she did remember his face. She had not been thinking of herself in those last moments, she had been focused on Kakashi, on the way his masked face twisted, the dangerous, frightening shadow in his eye. The pain that rolled off him was more potent in her memories than even the terror, which was powerful as it was horrible.

He turned away from her and silently stared out the window. "I don't know what to think, Sakura." Was his voice soft that time? She watched as he ran his hand over his face before regarding her solemnly. "You say you remember nothing, but I am not sure I believe you."

Ouch. That stung, but she couldn't be upset with him. She understood all too well of what must be going through his mind.

Sakura held out her hands pleadingly. "Do you think me an enemy trick, some type of genjutsu?"

Kakashi walked to the window. "If you are you're a cleverly designed one that I've never encountered before." Sakura remembered when he first woke up and took off his hitai-ate for just a moment with the excuse of getting something out of his eye.

Sakura looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap. "Oh," she offered lamely, at a loss of what to say. "I can't blame you. I guess that's better than thinking you're crazy." At least that way he would take her presence somewhat seriously.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped. "There's that too," he admitted.

"At least you're not stuck." Sakura offered trying to lighten the mood. Kakashi regarded her assessingly, his eye focused and bright hot. She tried not to squirm. "Do you mind?" she bit out when she couldn't stand it anymore.

He smiled and turned to look out the window.


	6. Chapter 6

**Standard disclaimer applies**. Thank you to all my readers for your patience! I am not sure when I will update again, but allow me to explain: I had a plan for this story and then a better idea came along followed by another. Long story short – I have to decide between the three ideas. I've been going over the pros and cons of each and the process is more difficult than I had previously anticipated. I blame my crazy imagination on this, and so I just wanted to apologize in advance. But who knows, inspiration might strike anytime. Hopefully that inspiration won't entail another idea. Haha.

**Totally Transparent**  
_Chapter Five_

Never had there been a longer day in Sakura's life than this, and as the sun set over Konoha, coloring the village pink and gold, Sakura couldn't help the small growl that escaped her throat. She was sick of being stuck inside. Cabin fever was a definite possibility. Soon. It was a fate Sakura wished to spare herself from.

"Something the matter, Sakura?" Kakashi's voice came from the kitchen soft, masculine and warm and utterly annoying. He was making a simple dinner, just as he made a plain and simple lunch and breakfast.

He didn't like foods that were too bold or spicy. A plain piece of bread would have satisfied the man Sakura discovered earlier when she asked why his meals were so boring.

Thankfully, he ate more than just bread. Kakashi's meals contained the appropriate portions of everything the body needed to sustain itself, nothing more or less. He wasn't a health nut, but took no joy in rich dishes. To Kakashi food was the means for the body to derive energy, and _even_ _if_ she could eat Sakura wouldn't have touched his food on principle alone. No wonder he never minded the horrible 'food' they ate on missions or his ability to be satisfied mentally with a solider pill.

"Nothing." Sakura answered catching Kakashi's stare. He scratched the back of his head, his eye darting to the door.

"Do you want me to eat outside?" He asked the same question for breakfast and lunch not wanting to eat in front of her. Sakura had been surprised by the polite gesture – not that Kakashi was above politeness, but because she hadn't even thought of it herself.

Sakura shook her head. "No, of course not. It's your apartment, eat here."

She wasn't hungry; she wasn't even craving food or anything other than getting out of this plane of existence to the big, bad beyond, and that was saying something because she had loved food. Really loved food. She would have been as big as a house if she hadn't trained everyday. Sakura was grateful that she'd emptied out her secret candy closet before she kicked the bucket. Pity she hadn't done the same with her hidden alcohol cabinet. Tsunade would be proud. Of the alcohol, not the candy.

She'd go into a huge lecture about metabolism stating the facts that Sakura already knew – that she wasn't getting any younger and that she better start eating right before she blew up in a big blubber explosion. A younger Sakura would have cared and taken notes; the older Sakura blamed Naruto whose endless ramen runs and late night beer binges finally wore off on her.

Angling a look at Kakashi Sakura knew that he would never have to worry about excess weight. Bastard.

"If you're sure." Kakashi replied sitting down on his bed, plate on his lap.

"I didn't think you'd eat in your bed." She admitted. "You know crumbs and all, and we all know how much you hate clutter."

"We?" He asked after chewing and swallowing a piece of food.

Sakura tried not to look at him eating, but she couldn't stop herself from taking a peek every now and then. If it was possible for someone to eat beautifully Kakashi would be the one. She never paid attention when they ate rations as those came in pouches and he was too quick while eating in restaurants, but here in his own place he ate quietly, politely, almost artfully. And more he hadn't been wearing his mask for a while reasoning that she'd already seen the goods there was no point in wearing it.

"Naruto, Sai, and I. We."

Kakashi nodded. "I prefer things to be somewhat organized." And that was all he offered.

Sakura sat on the chair by his desk and crossed her arms. "What are you going to do? Are you going to tell people about me?"

"Tsunade-sama would order me to undergo a psych evaluation," his brow arched as if the answer was simple and she shouldn't have asked. "I'd rather not submit to that just yet."

"How about if I am some enemy genjutsu?" Sakura tapped her fingers on his desk in annoyance.

What the hell was the man thinking? What was going to happen? He'd been so closed mouth on telling her what happened on the mission. It was her right to know, but he'd just shrugged and said she would figure it out and that it wasn't his place to tell. It wasn't until he threw her a dark, frustrated look that she stopped asking.

"And are you, Sakura?" he asked eating and ignoring her alike.

"No!" she stamped her foot on the ground. "But you suggested it."

He rubbed his nose. "What proof do I have of that being true?"

Sakura wanted to scream 'nothing, you have nothing' but refrained. Instead, an idea popped into her mind. One that she didn't want to do for two reasons: one being that it would involve the creepy door, and the second it would involve trying to prove that she was in fact a genjutsu, but at least they would be getting somewhere.

"You could try to take me outside and show me to people." Or a better idea popped into her mind. "You could invite Naruto to come and see if they see me or at least feel a presence."

"Naruto isn't in the village." He said somewhat blandly as if he didn't want to reveal something in his voice.

"Then pick someone else."

"I thought you were afraid of the door." He shot back ignoring her again. That little way of his was getting really and truly annoying.

"Maybe I can go through with you. You are my haunting victim."

Kakashi's crinkle eye caught hers as he laughed, clearly amused. "I am your haunting victim. You didn't tell me that."

"I broke the ghost code right there I guess." Sakura had no idea if there even was a ghost code about not telling your victim you were haunting them, and she didn't appreciate him laughing at that.

"Sakura," he was quietly laughing. "For claiming to be a ghost I am not feeling very haunted."

"You think I can't be scary, is that it?"

Kakashi smiled and for the first time it reached his richly colored eye. Her breath caught. "I never said that, Sakura."

Her heart fluttered for some stupid reason, and not wanting to acknowledge him or his beautiful smile looked away.

"Are you just planning on staying in your apartment all day?" It was already dinnertime and the sun was setting. They had played cards and then some more cards, each game interrupted by either his bathroom breaks or meals. Staying inside was for relaxing days, and she could hardly say Kakashi was relaxed.

The silver hair shinobi shrugged. "As you can see." Kakashi said motioning to himself and his seated position on his bed, his plat and utensils laid neatly by his side.

"Yes," Sakura said stressing her next words out, "but _you_ can leave."

Kakashi gifted her with a noncommittal shrug. "And leave you alone, left to your own devices? I shudder at the havoc you'd wreck."

Sakura grinned making some light reply that came automatically, because it was plain to see Kakashi did not trust her.

He hadn't done anything. No seals or hand gestures to contact someone. He hadn't even tried to attack her, but he'd been assessing her every movement. This realization came late in the game yes, but she had known it somehow this entire time. Now it just had a name.

**A/N: **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. I am not too happy about this chapter and I know all these chapters seem like fillers, but I just want you to know I am doing this slowly for a reason. I am able to handle to story better this way, taking it little bits and at a time. Also, it makes the story longer so I can focus on more character interactions rather than plot/action. If you haven't already guessed this story is mostly about the interaction between Kakashi and Sakura than the actual plot. The plot I have to admit, while fun to write, is just a vehicle for my Kaka/Saku obsession.


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